Pussy Riot girl freed on appeal

Yekaterina Samutsevich was freed but other two members had jail terms upheld by Moscow court

One of the members of jailed Russian punk group Pussy Riot has been freed, while two others have had their jail terms upheld.

The trio were arrested on charges of hooliganism after performing an anti-Putin song in the cathedral.

Their imprisonment has caused international outrage, with protests and celebrities such as Madonna speaking out in support of the women.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, who has denied there has been a split in the group, was mobbed by friends, family and supporters as she left the court following her successful appeal.

Her father told waiting press his daughter would keep fighting for the release of her bandmates despite her actions being limited by bail conditions.

Samutsevich’s lawyer had argued that she had been thrown out of the Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow by guards before she could remove her guitar from its case in time to play the band’s controversial ‘punk prayer’.

Her bandmates Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina hugged her when the decision was read out.

The other band members cheered and hugged Samutsevich when the decision was read out.

Defence lawyer, Mark Feigin, said ‘We’re glad that Yekaterina Samutsevich has been freed, but we think the other two girls should also be released.’ He also confirmed they would be continuing with the appeals process.

Please keep me up to date with special offers and news from Marie Claire and other brands within the Time Inc. UK Group by email. You can unsubscribe at any time.

We'd also like to send you special offers and news just by email from other carefully selected companies we think you might like. Your personal details will not be shared with those companies - we send the emails and you can unsubscribe at any time. Please tick here if you are happy to receive these messages.